YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- A federal magistrate in Ohio has denied bond to four of seven men accused of hair-cutting attacks on fellow Amish and ruled that their cases can go before a grand jury.
U.S. Magistrate George Limbert in Youngstown made the rulings following Tuesday hearings. The men were charged with hate crimes last week after federal agents raided the compound of their breakaway Amish group. Three others face similar hearings Friday.
Authorities accuse the men of forcibly cutting the beards and hair of Amish men and women and taking their photos. The Amish believe the Bible instructs women to grow hair long and men to grow beards and stop shaving once married.
Authorities say the men carried out attacks in September, October and November outside Bergholtz in eastern Ohio.
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